Maternal obesity is associated with a reduction in placental taurine transporter activity
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Maternal obesity increases the risk of poor pregnancy outcome including stillbirth, pre-eclampsia, fetal growth restriction and fetal overgrowth. These pregnancy complications are associated with dysfunctional syncytiotrophoblast, the transporting epithelium of the human placenta. Taurine, a β-amino acid with antioxidant and cytoprotective properties, has a role in syncytiotrophoblast development and function and is required for fetal growth and organ development. Taurine is conditionally essential in pregnancy and fetal tissues depend on uptake of taurine from maternal blood. We tested the hypothesis that taurine uptake into placental syncytiotrophoblast by the taurine transporter protein (TauT) is lower in obese women (body mass index (BMI)⩾30 kg m(-)(2)) than in women of ideal weight (BMI 18.5-24.9 kg m(-)(2)) and explored potential regulatory factors. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Placentas were collected from term (37-42-week gestation), uncomplicated, singleton pregnancies from women with BMI 19-49 kg m(-)(2). TauT activity was measured as the Na(+)-dependent uptake of (3)H-taurine into placental villous fragments. TauT expression in membrane-enriched placental samples was investigated by western blot. In vitro studies using placental villous explants examined whether leptin or IL-6, adipokines/cytokines that are elevated in maternal obesity, regulates TauT activity. RESULTS: Placental TauT activity was significantly lower in obese women (BMI⩾30) than women of ideal weight (P<0.03) and inversely related to maternal BMI (19-49 kg m(-)(2); P<0.05; n=61). There was no difference in TauT expression between placentas of ideal weight and obese class III (BMI⩾40) subjects. Long-term exposure (48 h) of placental villous explants to leptin or IL-6 did not affect TauT activity. CONCLUSIONS: Placental TauT activity at term is negatively related to maternal BMI. We propose that the reduction in placental TauT activity in maternal obesity could lower syncytiotrophoblast taurine concentration, compromise placental development and function, and reduce the driving force for taurine efflux to the fetus, thereby increasing the risk of poor pregnancy outcome.
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Reduced taurine and System A transport activity, and lower SNAT4 expression, are seen in placental villous fragments from obese women delivering infants of normal birth weight.
“Reduced taurine and System A transport activity, and lower SNAT4 expression, are also seen in placental villous fragments from obese women delivering infants of normal birth weight (151, 184).”
From Placental Origins of Chronic Disease (2016) · cites this paper as [151]
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- Authors
- Ditchfield, A. M., Desforges, M., Mills, T. A., Glazier, J. D., Wareing, M., Mynett, K., Sibley, C. P., & Greenwood, S. L.
- Affiliations
- Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Greenwood, S L
- Venue
- International Journal of Obesity
- Published
- 2014-12-30
- Volume
- 39
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 557-564
- ISSN
- 0307-0565 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-5497
- PMC
- PMC4389721
- OpenAlex
- W2088625303
- Cited by
- 70
- References
- 59
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 8
- FWCI
- 9.58
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Obesity (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust (094361/2/10/Z, 094361)
- Tommy's
- Greater Manchester Comprehensive Local Research Network
- Manchester Biomedical Research Centre
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Obstetrics and Gynecology › Pregnancy and preeclampsia studies
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Aldose Reductase and Taurine
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Obstetrics and Gynecology › Gestational Diabetes Research and Management
- Keywords
- maternal obesity, taurine transporter, placenta, syncytiotrophoblast, taurine uptake, body mass index, leptin, interleukin-6, placental insufficiency, pregnancy complications, fetal growth restriction, preeclampsia, stillbirth, placental villi, adipokines, cytokines, placental development
- MeSH terms
- Taurine Transporters, Adult, Carrier Proteins, Cell Membrane, Cells, Cultured, Chorionic Villi, Female, Fetal Growth Retardation, Humans, Infant, Newborn, Membrane Glycoproteins, Obesity, Placenta, Pre-Eclampsia, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Complications, Taurine, Blotting, Western, Body Mass Index, Membrane Transport Proteins, Stillbirth
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